Top Tier Program

Program Review

True leaders in the field, some of the best in the country. Pretty approachable.

Didactics / Teaching

Monday night lectures usually led by residents and moderated by faculty.

Operating Experience

Above average but not a massive selling point of the program.

Clinic Experience

Great facilities. Resident run clinic at Cook Country where they have more autonomy.

Research Opportunities

Research powerhouse! For me this was one of the biggest selling points of the program. Not much more to say except that this is unequivocally one of the best programs in the country for research. Between faculty with dedicated research staff, fellows, and upper level residents, there are always projects to go around.

Residents

Seems like they get along and are all happy for residents. I read in a few different places that this is a “bro-friendly” program but did not personally experience that.

Lifestyle

Chicago is one of the best cities in the world and in my opinion a perfect city for residency.

Location / Housing

Much cheaper than NYC and yet still provides all of the advantages of living in one of the biggest cities in America.

Limitations

Early operative experience and trauma.

Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion

If you’re interested in being at one of the top programs in the US, this is the program for you. I invite anyone interested to just look at the fellowship placement list on their website.

Qualification

Top academic program

Program Review

Staff / Faculty / Chairman

Huge strength of the program. Dr. Jacobs (chair) is former AAOS president, a great leader, and cares deeply about residents and the program. Faculty in every field are super famous. There is a current president/former president of the major subspecialty society in basically every department (joints, sports, spine, etc). Faculty is very approachable considering this. Monthly casual journal clubs are held by the attending in their homes. Sounds like you are often discussing the faculty's newest JBJS articles with them.

Super high volume for elective orthopaedics. Almost all faculty run two rooms (fellow in one room, resident in the other, so fellows don't affect OR experience). Fast turnovers (probably 15 min on average). Surgical assists to set up room and help with prepping/draping. One-on-one mentorship model so you are single-scrubbed with the attending on day one of PGY-2 year. Because Rush ortho is a private practice operating out of an academic institution, things are run very efficiently and you generally are done with the clinical day at 5-6pm every day but have still done 4+ cases.

Clinic Experience

Pretty typical clinic experience. Very nice facilities are a plus. Super high volume so you will learn to see patients efficiently and dictate clinic notes early on in training.

Research Opportunities

No better place in the country for research in my opinion. Residents routinely graduate with upwards of 40 publications (and some with many, many more). Paid research staff in each subspecialty (you don't need to do much legwork for your projects). Many institutional patient databases so you can come up with a study and have it done very quickly. There are people to do your stats, help with lit reviews, help with writing, IRBs, etc. Travel for research is fully supported too.

Residents

Awesome group. Residents hang out a lot outside the program and seem very happy. The culture of the program also seems great, I saw residents help each other out often. Apparently the administration is very supportive too - very accommodating for family emergencies and whatnot.

Lifestyle

Probably one of the best lifestyles of programs I rotated at. PGY-2 year is busy like most places, but after that call is pretty sparse. Residents with spouses, kids, dogs, etc do not seem too stressed out.

Location / Housing

Chicago is an awesome city with the benefit of being very affordable compared to similar cities on the coasts. I think that there are more bars per capita than any other place in the country. Many residents can afford to buy. Free parking and healthcare which is nice.

Limitations

Call is a bit lighter than other places I've rotated - the nurse practitioners take care of inpatient stuff and you generally aren't getting crushed with consults all night. You will still be busy enough to learn, but not exactly the "blue-collar" experience that some people may be after.

Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion

I'd have a hard time picking a better academic program in the county. Great residents, great operative experience, great location, great program culture, super famous but approachable faculty, very easy to do lots of research. Residents hand pick their fellowships.

Amazing rotation/program

Program Review

Staff / Faculty / Chairman

You get to work with some of the biggest names in orthopaedics and witness the future of the field. The attendings you work with are so well regarded, on my residency interviews the interviewer would often digress and start inquiring about how Rush attendings do certain procedures. All the attendings are extremely approachable, even the chairman is someone who is interested in getting to know you as a medical student.

Didactics / Teaching

Solid line-up of the basics for the junior level residents followed by more advanced stuff for the seniors. The curriculum starts off the year heavy on the trauma to get the juniors ready for consults and their rotations at Cook County Hospital.

Operating Experience

If you want to be let loose on day one with no oversight, this certainly isn't the program for you. The program takes the approach of a graduated system where you learn the art of good operative technique. After you've demonstrated proficiency of the fundamental principles, you're given more freedom and responsibility in the OR. Ultimately you're not left to re-invent the wheel by yourself and instead get the experience of top notch attendings to help guide you. I think it leads to learning good habits, which means you'll be a more efficient surgeon after residency.

Clinic Experience

It certainly isn't clinic heavy, but you get at least one day of clinic each week. It's good because the attendings use this as an opportunity to treat you the art of non-operative management and diagnosis.

Research Opportunities

It goes without saying this is a research power house. Whether you're looking for clinic or bench style research, they have it all. The attendings are approachable and always willing to get you involved in their research projects. The presence of fellows also helps to drive a lot of the research forward, which offers you plenty of opportunities to get published.

Residents

Exceptional group of residents who all have a great time together. Because the program has five residents per year, it leads to a great dynamic within the classes. Each class seems to function well as a cohesive unit.

Lifestyle

Intern year seems to be easy (as is with most ortho residencies). The second year is by far the roughest, but it drastically gets better during years 3 through 5. The benefits of the program offer you the ability to enjoy living in Chicago and take advantage of the city.

Location / Housing

Given you're living in a major metropolitan center, it's very affordable on a resident's salary.

Limitations

None

Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion

Overall a fantastic experience. It has the whole package to offer the residents. I would certainly strongly recommend considering this program.

Amazing program/rotation

Program Review

Staff / Faculty / Chairman

You get to work with some of the biggest names in orthopaedics and witness the future of the field. The attendings you work with are so well regarded, on my residency interviews the interviewer would often digress and start inquiring about how Rush attendings do certain procedures. All the attendings are extremely approachable, even the chairman is someone who is interested in getting to know you as a medical student.

Didactics / Teaching

Solid line-up of the basics for the junior level residents followed by more advanced stuff for the seniors. The curriculum starts off the year heavy on the trauma to get the juniors ready for consults and their rotations at Cook County Hospital.

Operating Experience

If you want to be let loose on day one with no oversight, this certainly isn't the program for you. The program takes the approach of a graduated system where you learn the art of good operative technique. After you've demonstrated proficiency of the fundamental principles, you're given more freedom and responsibility in the OR. Ultimately you're not left to re-invent the wheel by yourself and instead get the experience of top notch attendings to help guide you. I think it leads to learning good habits, which means you'll be a more efficient surgeon after residency.

Clinic Experience

It certainly isn't clinic heavy, but you get at least one day of clinic each week. It's good because the attendings use this as an opportunity to treat you the art of non-operative management and diagnosis.

Research Opportunities

It goes without saying this is a research power house. Whether you're looking for clinic or bench style research, they have it all. The attendings are approachable and always willing to get you involved in their research projects. The presence of fellows also helps to drive a lot of the research forward, which offers you plenty of opportunities to get published.

Residents

Exceptional group of residents who all have a great time together. Because the program has five residents per year, it leads to a great dynamic within the classes. Each class seems to function well as a cohesive unit.

Lifestyle

Intern year seems to be easy (as is with most ortho residencies). The second year is by far the roughest, but it drastically gets better during years 3 through 5. The benefits of the program offer you the ability to enjoy living in Chicago and take advantage of the city.

Location / Housing

Given you're living in a major metropolitan center, it's very affordable on a resident's salary.

Limitations

None

Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion

Overall a fantastic experience. It has the whole package to offer the residents. I would certainly strongly recommend considering this program.

Stellar rotation

Program Review

Staff / Faculty / Chairman

Attendings were extremely friendly, focused on teaching and building resident operative skills. There are tons of big names. As a rotator, I worked directly with attendings and even chairs of departments.

Didactics / Teaching

Excellent didactics. Mix of basic level info up to cutting edge lectures. Mix of sessions run by residents and attendings. Good food at the didactic sessions

Operating Experience

Rush has exceptional operative volume, and residents benefit dramatically from this. There are many fellows but there is enough operative volume to go around.

Clinic Experience

Residents get a good amount of clinic experience, but not excessive. Let's face it, noone really likes clinic.

Research Opportunities

Second to none. Enough said

Residents

A fantastic group. Residents like to hang out and have a good time in the great city of Chicago

Lifestyle

Chicago is affordable as a resident and offers plentiful opportunities to enjoy the residency years. The program is relatively benign in terms of hours, so residents have plenty of time to enjoy the city.

Location / Housing

Rush location is easily accessible from a number of Chicago's desirable neighborhoods, such as west loop, river north, and wicker park. The hospital offers free parking garage for residents, so it is very easy to get to work.

Limitations

None

Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion

Amazing rotation at an amazing residency program. Overall compared favorably with rotations at other top programs such as HSS. Check it out.